April Fools
by Icenectar
Summary: It's Pilaf's favorite holiday, much to the dismay of Myu and Shou. Pilaf's favorite holiday is none other than April Fool's Day! Will Myu and Shou be able to survive the festivities or will they have the last laugh on Emperor Pilaf?


"Shou, wake up," Myu whispered and the sleeping fox rolled over to his side. Myu sighed and shook the fox again. "Wake UP Shou!"  
  
The fox's eyes opened slightly as he yawned and sat up.  
  
"What's the matter, Myu?" he asked and Myu placed a finger on her lips.  
  
"Quiet. Do you know what day today is?"  
  
"Payday?"  
  
"No not payday!"  
  
"Oh. Never mind then."  
  
"Don't you DARE go back to sleep. Do you even know what day it is?"  
  
"I know it's not payday."  
  
"It's the emperor's favorite holiday."  
  
"No!"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Um...what IS his favorite holiday again?"  
  
Myu whispered into the fox's ear and Shou shook in fear.  
  
"T-that day?" he stuttered and Myu nodded her head.  
  
"And we'd better be on our guard, otherwise we'll fall prey to his pranks. Do you remember last year? Your whiskers got caught on fire."  
  
"I don't want it to happen again this year! I'm staying right here," Shou said and hid underneath the blanket.  
  
A terrifying scream was heard and Myu clung to Shou in fear.  
  
"What....WAS that?" she asked and Shou shuddered.  
  
"M...m...maybe something got the emperor," he said.  
  
"One of us should go check it out and I think only fair that you go."  
  
"How is that fair?!"  
  
"Fine. We'll both go. You first."  
  
She pushed Shou forward and he nervously began walking.  
  
"What if something got the emperor?" he whispered.  
  
"Then we need to find out whether or not we have a job," Myu replied as they stopped at Emperor Pilaf's throne room.  
  
"A.....are you in there, sire?"  
  
"Shou...is that you?" Pilaf asked, his voice sounding faint. Myu switched on her flashlight and together, they crept into the throne room.  
  
"Where are you, sire?" Myu asked and she flashed light around the room. "And what happened to the lights?"  
  
"Power...surge," Pilaf replied as he raised a feeble hand. Both Myu and Shou saw it and they ran hastily to assist him. Pilaf looked pale, paler than normal and Myu tried to make sense of what he was telling her.  
  
"Can you tell me exactly what happened?"  
  
"There's something loose in the castle. Some animal. Look. It bit me."  
  
Myu gazed at the purplish mark on his wrist and made a face.  
  
"That's terrible, sire. Did you see what it looked like?" she asked.  
  
"All I remember seeing was its large yellow eyes. All I was doing was sitting in my throne, trying to come up with some pranks when it came out of nowhere and jumped me. At first, I was so terrified that I couldn't speak. Then I screamed to get you two to come and rescue me although I'm sure you both were hiding under the bed."  
  
"That is not true. I was hiding under my blanket, sire," Shou said and Myu glared at him.  
  
"Quiet, Shou. What happened next?" Myu asked.  
  
"As it ran away, I noticed something glowing in it's mouth. You don't think it took...." Pilaf said and scrambled to his feet.  
  
"Took what?"  
  
"The dragonball? Shou, have you seen it?"  
  
"Seen what, sire?" Shou asked.  
  
"The dragonball."  
  
"Of course I have. It's yellow and round with red stars on it. You keep it right over here....Um....it's not over here. Did you move it, sire?"  
  
"No I did not move it! Do you know what this means?"  
  
"You lost it?"  
  
"I did not lose it!"  
  
"It means, Shou, that whatever attacked the emperor took the dragonball," Myu said.  
  
"Very good, Myu. Now, I want you two to bring the dragonball back," Pilaf said and Shou started to shake in fright.  
  
"We'll get right on it, sir. Come on, Shou."  
  
"B-bu-but..." Shou protested as Myu led him out of the throne room. Pilaf waited until he was sure they were out of earshot then began laughing.  
  
"I wish I had a picture of their faces! That was just TOO funny! Now they're going to spend the entire day searching for a creature that doesn't exist!" Pilaf cried as he rubbed his small hands. He walked over to his throne and took a yellow sphere out from behind a cushion. He kissed the dragonball lovingly and placed it back in its safe place.  
  
"And you, my sweet dragonball, are perfectly safe from anything that might happen. This holiday is going to be the best ever!"  
  
"Shou, would you let go of me?" Myu asked as they walked down a dark and spiraling staircase.  
  
"It's awfully dark down here. Are you sure we should look down here?" he asked, his voice shaking slightly.  
  
"We have to at least fix the lights, don't we?"  
  
"I suppose we do...."  
  
"Come on then. If we don't get this sorted out, we may never get paid."  
  
"I certainly wouldn't want that. How are we supposed to eat with no money?"  
  
"We could steal it but that's not my style. Look, Shou, we're almost at the bottom."  
  
"Do you see anything living down there?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Good."  
  
A crash was heard and Shou began to shake once again.  
  
"W-wh-what was that?" he stammered and Myu flashed her flashlight around the room.  
  
"I don't see anything," she said. "But there's the fuse box. We'll have light in here soon."  
  
"Myu! I see it! The glowing yellow eyes!" Shou cried and moved backwards towards the staircase.  
  
"Where?"  
  
"Up there! It's looking down at us. Menacingly! We've got to get out of here!"  
  
"I'm going to fix the lights," Myu said.  
  
"No! It's too dangerous!" Shou cried as Myu walked over to the fuse box and switched on the breaker. The pair of glowing yellow eyes fell down from the ceiling, just as the lights turned on. Something soft and furry landed on Shou and Shou ran about the room screaming hysterically.  
  
"Help! Help! It's got me! It's got me! Save yourself, Myu!"  
  
"SHOU!" Myu cried and picked the object up off of Shou. "Look. It's only a stuffed toy."  
  
"A what?" Shou asked as he tried to catch his breath.  
  
"A toy. There's a note pinned to its back."  
  
"Oh no. Does it say what I think it says?"  
  
"To Shou and Myu. April.....Fool. Love Pilaf."  
  
"You mean, he got us again?"  
  
"He got us good this time, Shou. I sometimes wonder if the pay in this job is worth all the humiliation I have to go through."  
  
"Myu, Shou! Quit playing in the basement! We have dragonballs to find!" Pilaf's voice cried and Myu and Shou saluted.  
  
"We're coming right now, sire!" Shou cried.  
  
"Good and I want to thank you two for being such good sports on my favorite holiday. If you both hurry, I'll give you a surprise."  
  
"A surprise?" Myu and Shou asked together. "We're coming, sir!"  
  
Pilaf sat in his chair, laughing hysterically as he tied the bow on his surprise. He could hardly wait to see the expressions on their faces when they untied the ribbon. He heard their footsteps outside his door and he hastily regained his composure.  
  
"I just hope I can keep a straight face for this. It was hard enough not to break up over the first prank," he said to himself as he set the gift on the table beside his throne. There was a knock at his door and he glanced up. "Come iiinnn."  
  
"Thank you, sir," Myu said as she opened the door.  
  
"You two aren't too upset about my little prank earlier?" Pilaf asked and Shou nodded his head.  
  
"Of course we aren't, sire. You really got us good," he said and Myu folded her arms.  
  
"Speak for yourself. You were the one that was practically scared stiff. Emperor, is it truly part of our job description to be put through this every year?" Myu asked.  
  
"Don't be upset, Myu. I said I had a surprise for you, didn't I?" Pilaf asked and Shou clapped his paws together.  
  
"A surprise? Oh thank you, Emperor!" he cried and Pilaf picked up the present that sat beside him.  
  
"Here you go. You'll get a bang out of it."  
  
"Emperor, is this another attempt to make fools out of us?" Myu asked and Pilaf looked up at her with big eyes.  
  
"Myu, I'm surprised at you. Would I do something like that?"  
  
"Don't worry so much, Myu. Let's just open it!" Shou cried as Emperor Pilaf crept away from his throne to watch the action in safety. Shou pulled at the ribbon on the side and Myu sighed.  
  
"Let me do it, Shou. You pull the ribbon like this," Myu said and tugged at one of the ribbon's ends. The bow untied itself and Shou eagerly opened the box. The throne room lit up with the explosion and Pilaf fell to the floor laughing. When the smoke cleared, Shou and Myu stood there, their clothing black with ashes.  
  
"Hahahahaha! That was GREAT! You-you should have seen your faces!!!" Pilaf sputtered as Myu wiped herself off.  
  
"VERY amusing, sire," Myu said as Shou inspected his whiskers. "Now that we have been 'fooled' twice, do you think it's possible to get down to business and go after those dragonballs?"  
  
"My whiskers were singed again," Shou moaned and Pilaf walked over to the dining table and picked up a serving plate.  
  
"I truly am sorry for my actions. Here, have an appetizer," Pilaf said and Shou's ears perked up.  
  
"Thank you, sire!" he cried and took what looked like a cucumber roll.  
  
"There's some for you as well, Myu."  
  
"I'm fine, sir," Myu replied and Pilaf's eyes darkened.  
  
"I insist that you have some!"  
  
"Oh all right."  
  
Myu took one of the rolls and placed it into her mouth.  
  
"This is actually good, sire. Where did you get it?" Shou asked.  
  
"I had it catered, but I put in an extra special ingredient in it," Pilaf replied.  
  
"What's that?" Myu asked.  
  
"Cayenne pepper!!!"  
  
"AAAGHH!! MY MOUTH!!!" Shou cried as Myu clutched at her throat and coughed.  
  
"WATER!!" she cried and ran towards the pitcher that sat on the table. She opened her mouth and poured the contents down her throat. She breathed heavily for a moment then her mouth twisted up into an odd expression. Shou grabbed the pitcher from her and downed what was left in the container. Pilaf clutched his side as he fell to the floor laughing.  
  
"FOOLS!! Th-that wasn't water! It was LEMON JUICE!!! Three times in a row I've gotten you! You should see the expressions on your faces!!" Pilaf cried and Myu grabbed him in rage.  
  
"WHERE IS THE WATER?!" she demanded as Pilaf's hysterics subsided.  
  
"All right, all right. I'm done for today. The water is over there."  
  
"I don't believe you."  
  
"This time I'm being honest. It's over there."  
  
Myu ran to another pitcher and poured a glass of water. She raised it to her mouth and Pilaf watched as the contents of the glass spilled out from the side onto her uniform. His eyes bulged out as he began laughing hysterically again. Myu glared at him then pulled Shou aside, who was still dancing from the sour taste of the juice.  
  
"We've GOT to do something about him," Myu whispered and Shou nodded his head.  
  
"But what?" Shou asked and Myu whispered into his ear. "I like it."  
  
"Shhh. He certainly got us today, didn't he, Shou? I guess he's in no mood to hear our news."  
  
"What news?" Pilaf asked and Myu shook her head.  
  
"I'm sorry sir, but we can't distract you from your favorite holiday."  
  
"The holiday is over. Now, what's the news you've got for me?"  
  
"It concerns what we've been searching for, doesn't it, Shou?"  
  
"It does?" Shou asked then winced as Myu kicked him. "I mean, yes. Yes it does. We've found the location of one of the dragonballs."  
  
"A DRAGONBALL??! WHERE?!" Pilaf cried and Myu held up her hand.  
  
"Oh emperor, we can't go and show you. Tell you what, I'll draw up a map and you can find it yourself," Myu said and Pilaf cleared a space on the table then ran over to his desk and came back with a blank sheet of paper and a pen.  
  
"Hurry and draw it! We can't lose it! I've got to get my wish!"  
  
Myu took the paper and quickly drew a map on it. She rolled it up and handed it to Pilaf.  
  
"There you go, but be careful. It's extremely dangerous," she said and Pilaf snatched the map from her.  
  
"Hah! Danger is my middle name! You two scaredy-cats stay here. I'm off to get a dragonball," Pilaf said and ran out of the throne room.  
  
"But I'm a dog, not a cat," Shou said and Myu grabbed his arm.  
  
"Come on. We've got just enough time to initiate the second part of the plan. Get me the dragonball and a hollow ball," Myu said and Shou ran off. He soon returned with the requested items and watched as Myu wrote a message, then stuffed it into the hollow ball, secured the two pieces together, and painted it to look just like a dragonball. She placed it on the stand instead of the real ball and stepped back.  
  
"He should be back any second now," Myu said as Pilaf stormed into the room.  
  
"Ah-ha! Thought you could send me on a wild dinosaur chase, did you? Well it didn't work. I was too smart for you, wasn't I?" Pilaf cried and Myu sighed in defeat.  
  
"You caught us, sir. I guess we'll get rid of this fake dragonball now."  
  
"Fake? What do you mean, fake?"  
  
"This one, sir. We were going to switch it for your real one, but you were too clever for us."  
  
"Yeah, we were going to put it right here in place of...oops!" Shou cried as he ran into the stand that held the dragonball. Pilaf watched in shock as the dragonball fell to the floor. He ran over to it and inspected the damage.  
  
"You idiot! You put a crack in it! Wait a second...since when do dragonballs come apart in halves?" Pilaf asked as he opened the ball like a walnut. He took out the paper and read it. "Dear emperor. April...Fool. Myu! Shou!"  
  
"Yes sir?" both replied.  
  
"Let's forget about this silly holiday and look for real dragonballs!"  
  
"With pleasure, sir!"  
  
"That trick cured him, Myu," Shou whispered and Myu smiled.  
  
"At least until next year," she replied. 


End file.
